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How to Say ‘How do you say that?’ in French

Comment on dit ça ?

kuh-mahn ohn DEE sah

[kuh-mahn ohn DEE sah]

💬 Usage Tip: On is the everyday word for "people in general" or "we", and it takes the same verb form as il. That's why the verb here is dit.

Phrase Breakdown

Comment

[kuh-mahn]

How

Used to inquire about the state of something.

Example

Comment était ta réunion aujourd'hui ?

How was your meeting today?

on dit ça ?

ohn DEE sah

do you say that?

Say 'ohn dee sah'. 'On' is the general 'you' or 'people', and the 't' in 'dit' is silent.

Example

Pourquoi on dit ça ?

Why do people say that?

Words in this phrase

[ohn]

we / one

Common spoken subject meaning we in everyday French.

Example

On va gagner si on continue comme ça.

We're going to win if we keep going like this.

dit

[DEE]

says

Present tense of 'dire' (to say), used with 'on'.

Example

On dit bonjour le matin.

People say hello in the morning.

ça

[sah]

that / it

Demonstrative pronoun used in everyday French to mean 'that' or 'it.'

Example

Ça me plaît quand une entreprise parle clairement.

I like it when a company speaks clearly.

Guides for French learners

Ordering in French: Cafés, Bakeries and Restaurants (with Menu Vocabulary)How to order in French at a café, a bakery and a restaurant: the phrases, the questions staff ask, and the menu and food vocabulary to understand the answers.Hello in French: Greetings, Good Evening and How to Answer "How Are You?"How to say hello in French, when to switch to good evening, how to ask how are you and what to answer, with tu vs vous and native audio.

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